First Bus has made a significant leap in their journey towards sustainability by placing the largest single order of Yutong Electric buses with Pelican Bus and Coach, the UK importer. This major order of 169 electric buses will be delivered to four depot sites: Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Basildon and Hengrove in Bristol, within the next 16 months.
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| Tom Harrison (Bus Ambassador) |
This latest investment is part of First Bus's ambitious plan to operate more than 800 zero-emission vehicles across the UK, supported by EV charging infrastructure at 16 depot sites. The order includes a mix of single and double-decker buses from Yutong's E10, E12, and U11DD models, expanding the company’s current Yutong EV operations in Aberdeen, Leeds and in Wales.
First Bus's investment, valued at £89 million, covers 178 zero-emission buses and supporting infrastructure across four regions. Additional funding of £16 million has been secured through the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, highlighting the collaborative effort between First Bus and local authorities.
This substantial order will benefit some of the most rural communities alongside inter-urban routes, significantly improving local air quality and reducing carbon emissions. With these new buses, at least 18% of First Bus’s overall UK fleet will be zero-emission by project completion, marking a major milestone towards their 2035 goal of a fully zero-emission fleet.
Andrew Jarvis, Chief Operating Officer for First Bus, expressed excitement about the transformative impact of this investment:
“We are delighted to place this order with the team at Pelican. This order marks another significant milestone as we invest further in our journey towards a zero-emission bus fleet across our UK operations.
“We are excited to be able to bring new state-of-the-art vehicles to our customers, who will see the immediate benefit of these transformative projects. We’ve worked tirelessly alongside our Local Authority partners to get to this point with the projects and look forward to getting these vehicles out in service for customers in the months to come.
"It is an exciting time for our colleagues at all four of these sites as we start to transform and futureproof our depots. This is also great news for our customers, who will see the benefits of these state-of-the-art vehicles – including improved local air quality and the enhanced customer experience that EV’s bring.
"As leaders in sustainable mobility, we’ll continue to work closely with central and local Government across the UK to support the delivery of our national decarbonisation commitments as we look to encourage more people than ever to choose the bus.”
Ian Downie, Head of Yutong UK at Pelican, shared his pride in the partnership:
"We are so proud to work in partnership with First Bus. Our single decks are already in operation with them in Wales as well as in Leeds and Aberdeen, and after trialling our double deck in Sheffield, we are delighted to receive this landmark order. The double deck was found to be as reliable and economical as our market leading single decks.
First Bus will receive these state of the art vehicles which are packed with customer centric benefits, such as full electric air conditioning, USB charge points, enhanced passengers information systems and induction hearing loops.
As a UK, family owned business, our highly skilled workforce will complete the vehicles in Yorkshire. This order is the largest single order we have received to date, and the largest single order for our double deck products. All the vehicles will be delivered within 16 months, so will quickly begin to deliver these transformative projects."
This order marks the largest single order received by Pelican to date, with all vehicles to be delivered within 16 months, quickly supporting First Bus's sustainability goals.
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